Pedometer or Heart Rate Monitor?

GottaGetSlimAndSexy

Hello,

I’m thinking about buying a Heart Rate Monitor. I have already purchased a pedometer months back. I wore my pedometer often, however it would always fall off. My question to you MFP Fam – WHAT is the best Heart Rate Monitor that YOU use? I heard about Fitbit. Do you think it’s worth the $100?

xjoseyx

I bought a Polar 4T and omg I love it! I use it when walking, on the treadmill, doing weights and swimming. I got it for $65 i think with shipping from http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/polar-ft4f-purple-h1.html I love seeing how my heart rate is going and how many calories im burning. I like to push myself knowing my numbers.

GottaGetSlimAndSexy

REALLY!? I will look into the Polar T HRM. I'm impressed you can wear it while swimming.

mrsmarit

Hello,

I’m thinking about buying a Heart Rate Monitor. I have already purchased a pedometer months back. I wore my pedometer often, however it would always fall off. My question to you MFP Fam – WHAT is the best Heart Rate Monitor that YOU use? I heard about Fitbit. Do you think it’s worth the $100?

Just so you know a Fitbit is NOT a heart rate monitor. It is a fancy pedometer.

I have both a Fitbit One and a Polar FT7 and I use them both. I wear the Fitbit One all day and it's great for step counts and also figuring my TDEE.


I use my HRM when I am doing continuous exercise (walking, running and yes even water aerobics.) If you are thinking of using in the water just make sure you start the HRM before you get in the water and that you don't press ANY buttons on the watch until you are out of the water and have dried off the watch.

So it really depends on what you are looking to do.

jaliving

I use the Fitbit One for day-to-day activity. It reminds me to get up from the desk and walk a little more. I use a MOTOACTV with a Heart Rate Monitor to track my exercises. A HRM will do a better job of calculating your caloric burn than a Pedometer. Where a Pedometer will tell you how many steps you took, the HRM can tell you how hard those steps were!

As for quality HRMs, Sigma makes a great one for a great price. Polar is more well known. What you need to investigate is the actual model of whoever you buy. Not all of them do the same thing. Some even use wacky formulas to determine things like Heart Rate Zones and even the calories being burned. Personally, I trust Sigma.

cwolfman13

It completely depends on your goals. I use a HRM primarily to monitor my HR zone for various training exercises. A pedometer isn't going to tell you whether you're in your desired HR zone or not. A Fit Bit or similar is just a really fancy pedometer that is good for wearing around and giving you a reasonable estimate of calories you burn throughout a given day; a HRM is not going to be accurate in such an application..a HRM is reasonably accurate in estimating calorie burn during a steady state aerobic event where the HR is elevated.

Keep in mind that it's all estimation and you're never going to get an exact "burn."

GottaGetSlimAndSexy

Thank you!!! Your advice has been a GREAT help to me. I will look into all makes and models that w/ cal my burn.

determined_erin

I love BodyMedia. It tracks calories burned, calories consumed (can sync with MFP calories), calorie balance, physical activity, steps taken, sleep duration, and weight. Here is a demo of the activity manager: http://www.bodymedia.com/Products/Learn-More/How-it-works

andykay8710

Do any of these sync with myfitnesspal? I am also looking to buy a heart rate monitor, for my daily running that I do. Thanks

willdob3

I wish someone made something similar in size & style to Fitbit One but that also tracked calories burned doing other activities, such as weight training & cycling.

I'd love one small tracker for everything. The big ones worn on the arm or wrist 24/7 are not an option for me. I need something easily hidden from sight.